


Devotion

by mondaze



Series: Carry Your Heart verse [1]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Drinking, M/M, Pining, Prequel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-03
Updated: 2018-08-03
Packaged: 2019-06-21 11:05:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,530
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15556338
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mondaze/pseuds/mondaze
Summary: 'Levi’s eyes follow Erwin carefully, wherever he goes. It's a habit of his'On a rare night out for the Survey Corps officers, Hanji makes an observation, and realizes how far Levi's feelings for Erwin go.





	Devotion

**Author's Note:**

> Hi all! 
> 
> Back again with another Eruri story! (ﾉ^ヮ^)ﾉ*:・ﾟ✧
> 
> This is essentially a short prequel to my other Eruri fic 'Carry Your Heart', an omegaverse story, but it is not necessary to have read that to understand this. I have not tagged it omegaverse and made no mention of omegaverse in order to allow it to be read as a stand alone fic, but for everyone who has read and enjoyed my other story, this is definitely part of the Carry Your Heart verse ;)
> 
> Not beta read. Hope everyone enjoys!

Hanji cheers along with everyone else when a glass is dropped somewhere in the tavern. A few people whistle sarcastically before the swell of loud conversation and laughter rises again; a constant, pleasing buzz on the ear. It’s hot and stuffy in here, but seeing comrades and friends enjoying themselves more than makes up for it.

She’s at the bar with Moblit, gently teasing him about a ridiculous fall from his horse that he took during training the day before. Their audience, including the Commander himself (looking a hundred times looser and happier than he usually looks) laugh at all the right places in Hanji’s story, and she can’t help but grin and run a hand affectionately through Moblit’s hair in apology when the story comes to an end. He puts up with a lot, poor thing.

She excuses herself and pushes away from the bar, trying to make a beeline for the toilets. It’s not the straightest beeline she’s ever made in her life, but it will have to do. She makes it in the end, anyway.

After relieving herself, she wanders back through the corridor and into the main area of the tavern again. She leans against the wall, feeling a little reluctant to rejoin the masses. She's at the stage of the night when she is loose-limbed and has to concentrate to walk straight, but not yet at the point where she might embarrass herself. Still, it’s probably best to slow down for a few minutes. They all have mandatory weapons and uniform inspections tomorrow afternoon, after all. Throwing up all over her uniform jacket may not be the greatest idea.

She surveys the room for a moment, watching Mike subtly attempt to move closer to Nanaba at the bar. She smiles and lets her head loll to the side for a moment, closing her eyes, and when she opens them she is looking straight at Levi.

He is sitting on his own, not really to Hanji’s surprise. Although he has been with them now for a few years, and people have become comfortable talking and working with him in training or battlefield contexts, most of them still have no clue how to approach him in a casual setting. His hard eyes and harsh Underground accent and expressions probably puts them off. People tend to find him intimidating, especially once they’ve seen what he can do to a Titan. She, on the hand, has never had any problem speaking to him.  In fact, she often flatters herself that she’s one of the few here he actually really gets along with.

She pushes herself off the wall and makes her way over to his table.

When he sees her coming he closes his eyes and groans, and Hanji grins as she slides in next to him.

‘Aw, don’t be like that, Captain’, she teases, and Levi pulls a face at his still-new rank. ‘What are you doing sitting over here all on your lonesome?’

Levi grunts, keeping his eyes trained on the crowd.

‘No one seems to want to talk to me’.

Hanji pretends to be shocked.

‘What, a pretty little thing like you? What could possibly be stopping them?’

Levi levels an unimpressed look at her and she laughs lightly.

‘Ah, they’ll get over it eventually. You just need to stop glaring at people’

‘I’m fine on my own’

Hanji shrugs.

‘You’re not on your own. You have me, and Mike, and Erwin’

_Speaking of which….._

Hanji lets a comfortable silence descend on their little corner of the room as she watches Levi curiously. His eyes look out into the mass of people, and anyone not paying attention would assume he was just on his guard: a former thug from the slums, in a room full of laughing, drunk people he doesn’t completely trust yet. But that’s not it.

Levi’s eyes follow Erwin carefully, wherever he goes. It’s a habit of his, and Hanji thinks it’s kind of sweet.

Unfortunately, this sentiment, coupled with the three tankards of ale she has had, loosens her tongue in a way she usually wouldn’t allow.

‘You just can’t take your eyes off him, can you?’

She should notice the way Levi bristles uncomfortably, but once again the drinks addle her senses.

‘Just making sure that idiot doesn’t trip over something and knock himself out. He’s the commander, he should be sharper than this’

Hanji chuckles.

‘Ah, come on, even Erwin needs to let loose every now and again. He wouldn’t be able to do the things he needs to do as commander otherwise. Also,’ she grins, leaning in closer to Levi, ‘that’s a bare-faced lie. He’s not _that_ drunk. You watch him all the time’

She’s closer to him this time, and so can see the way Levi’s grey eyes finally break their gaze on Erwin, flickering down uncomfortably for a moment. His mouth opens, and closes, and opens again, trying to think of a response. Hanji observes this behavior, comes to a hypothesis, and everything suddenly clicks. After a brief moment of shock, she winces, suddenly feeling like shit.

_Not cool, Hanji, s_ he scolds herself.

She sighs, and scoots in closer to Levi, ignoring the way he unsubtly tries to shift away from her.

‘Hey, man, listen, I’m sorry. I was only teasing. Shouldn’t have mentioned it’

Levi’s eyes flicker to hers, and she sees in them something like shame and worry, and Hanji could hit herself, she really could.

‘Don’t worry ‘bout it, Four-Eyes. It’s nothing’

‘It’s obviously not _nothing,_ Short-Stop. I really am sorry’

He grunts again, and they sit in silence for another while. Levi’s eyes have returned to Erwin, like he just can’t help himself, and Hanji is pondering this new revelation.

‘So. You really like him, huh?’

Levi turns and glares at her.

‘For fuck’s sake, Hanji’

‘What?’

‘We’re not teenagers’

She shrugs.

‘Alright, if you want me to go there, I will. You love him, then?’

Levi turns his eyes back, keeps resolutely avoiding her gaze, and in that action Hanji deduces her answer. Hypothesis confirmed.

She clicks her tongue.

‘Figures. All the Shinganshina girls practically hanging off you, and you never once showed any interest’

Levi rolls his eyes.

‘I wouldn’t touch them, even if they did anything for me. They have no idea what I’m really like’

Hanji laughs.

‘Yeah, I have no doubt that getting to know your prickly personality-’(she punctuates the words with a gentle thump to his shoulder) –‘would completely put them off’

He almost smiles, and Hanji counts it as a success.

They sit quietly again for a minute or two, before Levi speaks.

‘Hanji’

She looks at him, surprised. ‘Yeah?’

‘I…. how could you tell? You can’t see on my face or something, can you?’

He sounds genuinely worried, and Hanji is trying to think up of a comforting response – after all, just because she can see the lovestruck look in his eyes doesn’t mean anyone else necessarily can – but they are interrupted by a drunk Erwin and surprisingly-sober Mike appearing before them.

‘Levi,’ Erwin beams at him, and Levi looks up at him in a way that now seems painfully obvious to Hanji. She almost looks away. ‘You need to try to beat Mike here in a drinking contest. No one has beaten him since our trainee days but I told him I’ve never seen anyone who could hold their drink as well as you’

Mike sniffs doubtfully, and Levi turns to Hanji. She can see him opening his mouth, about to make up some excuse about staying with her, so she pushes him slightly.

‘Great idea! My money’s on Levi’

Erwin grins. ‘So is mine! Come on, Levi’

He takes Levi under the arm and pulls him up from the table. At his touch, Levi moves, almost unconsciously. He follows the two men up to the bar, but not before turning to flip the finger at Hanji over his shoulder. She sneers at him, giving him a thumbs up, and laughs as he rolls his eyes at her. Moblit makes his way over to her and she scoots over to give him room, settling in to watch the show.

Ten minutes later, with a huge crowd of wasted soldiers around them drunkenly cheering them on, Levi returns his eighth empty tankard to the counter as Mike slides down to sit on the ground, defeated.

A roar goes up in their audience and Levi, the undisputed champion, is slapped on the back more times than Hanji can count. He endures it all stoically – if with a slight pleased look in his eyes – until Erwin wraps an arm around his shoulders proudly and pulls him in to his side, ordering a shot of Levi’s favourite whiskey at the bar as a victory prize.

Levi flushes - _flushes_ \- and everyone else probably assumes it’s thanks to the alcohol he has just consumed. But Hanji knows better.

Levi was right, although she didn’t want to say it to him. She c _an_ see it, written across his face and in his eyes every time he looks at Erwin, even if no one else can, yet.

_Absolute devotion._


End file.
